Striker for use with a vehicle latch

ABSTRACT

A washer formed separately of the striker body is telescoped nonrotatably onto a hex formed on the body so that the striker may be threaded into the doorpost of the vehicle by turning the washer with a driving socket.

I United States Patent i 13,591,225

[72] Inventor Lawrence P. Hagemeyer [56] References Cited v Rockford UNITED STATES PATENTS 3 9f: M 1 1970 2,987,336 6/1961 Kramer .3 292/341.12 x gf s i971 3.309.127 3/l967 Pickles 292/341 12 x [73] Assignee wood vacuum Machine Company 3,350,128 l/l967 Marfens 292/34Ll2 Rockford, Ill. Primary Examiner-1ames A. Leppink Assismn Examiner-Edward J. McCarthy Attorney-Wolfe, Hubbard, Leydig, Voit & Osann [54] STRIKER FOR USE WITH A VEHICLE LATCH 6 Claims, Drawing Figs.

52 us. Cl 292/340,

292/34 1.12 ABSTRACT: A washer formed separately of the striker body [5]] lnt.Cl EOSb /02 is telescoped nonrotatably onto a hex formed on the body so Field of Search 292/340 that the striker may be threaded into the doorpost of the vehicie by turning the'washer with a driving socket.

STRIIIKEIR FOR USE WITH A VEHICLE LATCH BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a striker adapted for mounting on the in engagement with an outer vehicle and engageable with a latching device carried by a movable member such as the vehicle door to hold the door in a closed position. More particularly, the invention relates to a striker of the type including a keeper pin for engaging the latching device, a generally cylindrical head fastened to the outer end of the pin, a shank joined to the inner end of the pin and threaded into the frame member, and a washer disposed between the pin and the shank and positioned in engagement with the outer side of the frame member. The striker is of the same general type as the striker disclosed in Martens U.S. Pat. No 3,350,l28 in that the washer is arranged to coact with a rotary driving tool for threading the shank into the frame member during installation of the striker. Thus, the outer head need not be formed with and weakened by a recess for receiving the driving tool SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary aim of the present invention is to provide a new and improved striker of the foregoing character which may be manufactured more easily and less expensively than prior strikers of the same general type. To achieve these ends, the driving washer is formed separately of the keeper pin and the threaded shank and yet is connected to turn with the latter so that, when the washer is rotated by the driving tool, the shank will be turned and threaded into the frame member. By forming the washer separately, the striker may be manufactured at a lower cost than prior strikers in which the driving washer is formed as an integral part of the striker and yet, at the same time, the present striker possesses substantially the same high strength as such prior strikers.

A further object of the invention is to utilize the thread on the shank for holding the washer in an axially fixed position on the striker thereby to facilitate installation of the striker on the frame member and to enable cartoning and shipment of the striker as a one-piece assembly.

The invention also resides in the novel construction of the striker enabling the telescoping of a resiliently compressible inner sleeve onto the keeper pin and into a rigid outer sleeve while maintaining the diameters of the keeper pin and the threaded shank relatively large for a striker having a keeper portion with an overall diameter of a given value.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a vehicle frame member equipped with a striker embodying the novel features of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the striker during one stage of its manufacture.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the striker shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 41 is an enlarged fragmentary cross section taken substantially along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross section taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4. 1

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention is embodied in a striker mounted on the doorpost 11 of an automotive vehicle frame and coacting with a latching member 12 carried by the vehicle door 13 (FIG. 4) to hold the door latched in a closed position. Herein, the latching member is formed with a notched fork 14 (FIG. 1) which is rotated into interlocking engagement with the striker as an incident to closing ofthe door. 1

The striker 10 includes a cylindrical keeper pin it? projecb ing outwardly from the post II and disposed in path followed by the fork 14 of the latching member 112 when the door 13 is swung to a closed position. Preferably but not necessarily, a sleeve assembly is telescoped over the keeper pin to hold the fork tightly against the pin and thus reduce noise and vibration. In this instance, the sleeve assembly is formed by an inner rubber sleeve 16 which closely surrounds the pin, and by a substantially rigid outer sleeve 17 which is telescoped over both the inner sleeve and the pin. A cylindrical retaining head 18 on the outer end of the pin prevents the sleeves from sliding endwise off the outer end of the pin. In addition, the head is adapted to engage a slidable wedge element 19 (FIG. I) housed within the door and coacting with the latching member 12 to hold the door tightly closed. In case of-collision, the head will engage the latching member and prevent the latter from being pulled axially off the pin.

As shown in FIG. 4, a cylindrical shank 20 integral with the inner end of the keeper pin 15 projects inwardly through a hole 21 punched in the doorpost 111 and is threaded into a tapping plate 22 fastened to the inside of the post thereby to secure the striker 10 to the post. An enlarged washer 23 is disposed between the pin and the shank and is positioned in face-to-face engagement with the outer side of the post to cover the hole 21.

In accordance with the present invention, the washer 23 is formed separately of the keeper pin 15 and the shank 20 and yet is connected to the latter in such a manner that, when the washer is turned by a driving socket not shown) for installing the striker 10, the shank 20 also will turn and will thread into the tapping plate 22. As a result of forming the washer separately, the striker may be manufactured at lower costs than prior strikers with integrally formed washers and, because the washer coacts with the driving socket to effect installation of the striker, the head 18 need not be formed with a recess for receiving a male driving tool, is not structurally weakened by such a recess, and for a head of given size is less likely to fail during a collision. Thus, the present invention provides a high-strength striker capable of being manufactured at a relatively low cost.

In the present instance, the washer 23 is simply a flat and generally circular metal disc and is formed with a central hexagonal hole 24 (FIG. 3) although a hole of any noncircular configuration may be used. The washer is telescoped with a slidable but nonrotatable fit onto a driving portion 25 of hexagonal or other noncircular cross section integral with the body of the striker l0 and formed between the keeper pin 15 and the threaded shank 20. Thus, when the washer is turned by a driving socket, the driving connection established between the hexagonal hole 24 and the hexagonal driving portion 25 causes turning of the shank 20 so that the latter may be threaded into the tapping plate 22. To enable the driving socket to turn the washer, two diametrically opposed driving flats 26 (FIG. 3) are formed on the periphery of the washer.

Preferably, the washer 23 is telescoped over the shank 20 and onto the hexagonal driving portion 25 before the thread is formed on the shank and the thread, after being formed, is used to keep the washer from slipping inwardly off the driving portion. As shown in full lines in FIG. 2, the original diameter of the shank is less than the major diameter of the hexagonal hole 24 so that the washer may be slid over the shank from the inner end thereof and then telescoped onto the driving portion 25. Thereafter, the thread is formed on the shank by a conventional rolling process to increase the overall diameter of the shank to a dimension greater than the major diameter of the hole as shown in phantom in FIG. 2. As a result, the thread engages the inner faee of the washer to retain the washer on the driving portion and to prevent the washer from sliding inwardly along the shank prior to installation of the striker. Thus, the installer of the striker need not manually place the washer on the driving portion and there is no danger of the washer slipping off the hexagonal driving portion and onto the threaded shank when the driving socket is initially applied to the washer during installation. In addition, the striker may be sold and shipped as a unitary assembly.

To prevent the washer 23 from sliding outwardly along the keeper pin 15, an enlarged shoulder 28 (FIG. 3) is formed as an integral part of the body of the striker 10 and is located between the driving portion 25 and the inner end of the pin to engage the washer. In addition, the shoulder restricts inward sliding of the sleeves l6 and 17 along the pin. Advantageously, the sleeves are telescoped onto the pin from the outer end thereof before the head 18 is fastened to the pin, the head herein being formed separately of the pin and being anchored securely to a reduced diameter end portion 29 (FIG. 3) of the pin by a rivet 30 (FIG. 4-) after the sleeves have been telescoped onto the pin.

Because the washer 23 and not the head 18 coacts with the driving tool to cause threading of the shank 20 into the tapping plate 22, the head may be formed separately of the pin 15 so as to enable installation of the sleeves from the pin end of the striker rather than from the shank end. As a result, the outside diameter D (FIG. 5) of the overall sleeved keeper can be maintained at a given value such as one-half inch and yet the shank 20 can be made with a relatively large diameter (for example, one-half inch) for purposes of greater strength. If the sleeves instead were installed from the shank end of the striker, the overall diameter D necessarily would have to be greater than the diameter of the shank and thus a smaller and weaker shank would have to be employed to maintain the diameter D at a given value.

When the rigid outer sleeve 17 is employed, clearance areas must be provided between the keeper pin 15 and the inner rubber sleeve 16 so that, if the outer sleeve is slightly undersized or the inner sleeve slightly oversized, the rubber of the inner sleeve may flow into the clearance areas as the outer sleeve is telescoped onto the inner sleeve and thereby may accommodate any tolerance variations which might exist. Herein, the clearance areas are established by forming a series of circumferentially spaced and axially extending grooves 33 (FIG. 5) in the outer surface of the keeper pin 15. While the clearance areas could be formed by grooving the inner surface of the rubber sleeve 16, this would necessitate the use of a thicker rubber sleeve in order to provide a sleeve with a given minimum wall thickness and, as a result, would necessitate the use of a keeper pin having a smaller overall diameter than the overall diameter d (FIG. 5) of the pin 15 to keep the outside diameter D of the overall keeper at a given value. Thus, by forming the grooves 33 in the pin 15, the overall diameter d of the pin can be made comparatively large to provide a striker of relatively high strength.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present invention brings to the art a comparatively low-cost striker in which the washer 23 is arranged to coact with the driving toolso as to avoidthe need of weakening the head 18 with an open tool-receiving recess. The threaded shank 20 and the shoulder 28 coact to hold the washer on the striker body to facilitate installation and shipment of the striker and, in addition, the keeper pin and the shank can be made of relatively large diameter while maintaining the overall diameter D of the keeper at a given value even though the keeper pin is sheathed with the inner rubber sleeve 16 and the rigid outer sleeve 17.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a striker mountable on a vehicle frame member and engageable with a latching device, the combination of, an elongated keeper pin of predetermined diameter extending outwardly from the frame member for engagement with the latching device, sleeve means telescoped onto said pin, a head formed separately of said pin and fastened to the outer end of the pin to prevent the sleeve means from sliding off the outer end of the pin, a threaded cylindrical shank oflarger diameter than said pin formed integrally with and extending inwardly of the pin and adapted to be threaded into the frame member, a driving portion of noncircular cross section disposed between and formed integrally with said pin and said shank, an enlarged washer formed with a hole having a shape correlated with the cross section of said driving portion, said washer being telescoped nonrotatably onto said driving portion and disposed between said pin and said shank for engagement with the outer side of the frame member, a shoulder located between said pin and said driving portion and engageable with said washer to prevent the latter from sliding outwardly along said pin and engageable with said sleeve means to prevent the latter from sliding inwardly along said pin, the thread on said shank engaging said washer prior to engagement of the latter with the frame member and preventing the washer from sliding inwardly along the shank, and means on said washer for coacting with a driving tool for turning the washer to thread said shank into the frame member.

2. A striker as defined in claim 1 in which said last-mentioned means comprise a pair of spaced driving flats formed on the peripheral edge of said washer.

3. A striker as defined in claim I in which said sleeve means comprise an inner sleeve of resiliently compressible material telescoped onto said pin and an outer sleeve telescoped tightly onto said inner sleeve, said pin being formed with a series of circumferentially spaced and axially' extending grooves accommodating radial inward flow of the material of said inner sleeve when said outer sleeve is telescoped onto said inner sleeve.

4. In a striker mountable on a vehicle frame member and engageable with a latching device, thecombination of, an elongated keeper pin extending outwardly from the frame member for engagement with the latching device, a threaded cylindrical shank formed integrally with and projecting axially from the pin and adapted to be threaded into the frame member, a driving portion of noncircular cross section disposed between and formed integrally with said pin and said shank, an enlarged washer formed with a hole having a shape correlated with the cross section of said driving portion, said washer being telescoped nonrotatably onto said driving portion and disposed between said pin and said shank for engagement with the outer side of the frame member, and means on said washer for coacting witha driving tool for turning the washer to thread said shank into the frame member.

5. A striker as defined in claim 4 further including a shoulder located between said pin and said driving portion and engageable with said washer to prevent the latter from sliding outwardly along said pin.

6. A striker as defined in claim 5 in which the thread on said shank is sufficiently large in diameter to abut said washer prior to engagement of the latter with said frame member thereby to prevent the washer from sliding inwardly along said shank. 

1. In a striker mountable on a vehicle frame member and engageable with a latching device, the combination of, an elongated keeper pin of predetermined diameter extending outwardly from the frame member for engagement with the latching device, sleeve means telescoped onto said pin, a head formed separately of said pin and fastened to the outer end of the pin to prevent the sleeve means from sliding off the outer end of the pin, a threaded cylindrical shank of larger diameter than said pin formed integrally with and extending inwardly of the pin and adapted to be threaded into the frame member, a driving portion of noncircular cross section disposed between and formed integrally with said pin and said shank, an enlarged washer formed with a hole having a shape correlated with the cross section of said driving portion, said washer being telescoped nonrotatably onto said driving portion and disposed between said pin and said shank for engagement with the outer side of the frame member, a shoulder located between said pin and said driving portion and engageable with said washer to prevent the latter from sliding outwardly along said pin and engageable with said sleeve means to prevent the latter from sliding inwardly along said pin, the thread on said shank engaging said washer prior to engagement of the latter with the frame member and preventing the washer from sliding inwardly along the shank, and means on said washer for coacting with a driving tool for turning the washer to thread said shank into the frame member.
 2. A striker as defined in claim 1 in which said last-mentioned means comprise a pair of spaced driving flats formed on the peripheral edge of said washer.
 3. A striker as defined in claim 1 in which said sleeve means comprise an inner sleeve of resiliently compressible material telescoped onto said pin and an outer sleeve telescoped tightly onto said inner sleeve, said pin being formed with a series of circumferentially spaced and axially extending grooves accommodating radial inward flow of the material of said inner sleeve when said outer sleeve is telescoped onto said inner sleeve.
 4. In a striker mountable on a vehicle frame member and engageable with a latching device, the combination of, an elongated keeper pin extending outwardly from the frame member for engagement with the latching device, a threaded cylindrical shank formed integrally with and projecting axially from the pin and adapted to be threaded into the frame member, a driving portion of noncircular cross section disposed between and formed integrally with said pin and said shank, an enlarged washer formed with a hole having a shape correlated with the cross section of said driving portion, said washer being telescoped nonrotatably onto said driving portion and disposed between said pin and said shank for engagement with the outer side of the frame member, and means on said washer for coacting with a driving tool for turning the washer to thread said shank into the frame member.
 5. A striker as defined in claim 4 further including a shoulder located between said pin and said driving portion and engageable with said washer to prevent the latter from sliding outwardly along said pin.
 6. A striker as defined in claim 5 in which the thread on said shank is sufficiently large in diameter to abut said washer prior to engagement of the latter with said frame member thereby to prevent the washer from sliding inwardly along said shank. 